Scott dominates in Estoril to continue unbeaten start to 2017

Harrison Scott was victorious in race two in Portugal - Credit: FOTOSPEEDY

Harrison Scott remains unbeaten in 2017 as he secured his second victory of the opening EuroFormula Open weekend at the Autodromo do Estoril.

The RP Motorsport driver got the jump on pole-sitter Nikita Troitskiy into turn one, and despite an early safety car period, was able to control the pace and pull away, ultimately ending 11.467 seconds clear of the Drivex School racer.

The safety car was deployed at the end of the first lap after Alex Karkosik was pitched into a spin at turn one by Matheus Iorio, while Daniil Pronenko eliminated himself when he struck the back of Lodovico Laurini as the field bunched up behind the safety car on the main straight.

The safety car allowed Ameya Vaidyanathan and Iorio to pit without losing too much time, with the Carlin driver suffering a puncture on the opening lap, but both drivers returned to the track at the back of the field. Javier Cobian also hit the pits, but unlike the other two, he lost a lap to the field and finished at the rear of the field as a result.

Scott was untroubled throughout to complete victory, while Troitskiy took second, which will be a pleasing result after the disappointment of leading during Saturday’s opening race before a broken wing saw him fall down the order before retiring.

Thiago Vivacqua completed the podium for Campos Racing after making a pass on Yan Leon Shlom on the ninth lap, with the Fortec Motorsports driver then losing fourth to Fortec Motorsports team-mate Jannes Fittje at the chicane, the two banging wheels in the process and losing the Russian momentum, before he crashed out as a result of suspension damage at he Esses.

Devlin De Francesco took fifth for Carlin ahead of Campos Racing duo Simo Laaksonen and Petru Florescu, while Tarun Reddy finished inside the points in eighth for Carlin ahead of the recovering Iorio and Vaidyanathan.

But no one had an answer for Scott and RP Motorsport, who leave Portugal with a 100% record and a 28-point advantage over the chasing pack, led by Fittje and Vaidyanathan.